Al-Qaeda's Al-Zawahiri praises Osama bin Laden in new video message

Al-Qaeda has released a video in which the group's leader, Egyptian Ayman
al-Zawahiri, heaps praise on predecessor Osama bin Laden for his loyalty
towards his comrades.

12:30PM GMT 16 Nov 2011

In the half-hour tape titled "Days with the imam, Part One", a bespectacled al-Zawahiri, who became the leader of al-Qaeda in June after Osama bin Laden's killing, described the network's founder as noble, generous and good.

Al-Zawahri said he wants "to show the human side" of bin Laden's life in the video which was posted on a jihadist website.

Bin Laden, who built al-Qaeda into the world's most feared and despised terror organisation and was the mastermind behind some of its deadliest attacks, was killed by Navy SEALs in May during a raid in Pakistan. Al-Zawahri assumed control of the organisation shortly after, though experts say he lacks bin Laden's charisma, which drew many to the group.

Al-Zawahiri described his own feelings for bin Laden: "One of the sides one feels most when in companionship with Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may he rest in peace, that man was very loyal to his brothers and he was intent on remembering them in virtue and praising their way."

In the video al-Zawahri also tells stories of how bin Laden remembered al-Qaeda members who died fighting "jihad," or "holy war." He gave special mention to the hijackers who carried out the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

"He used to remember the 19 (people) who attacked the idiot of the age, America, in the Pentagon, the seat of its military leadership, and in New York, the symbol of its economic power. And the fourth plane was one its way either to the White House or to Congress. He used to remember them with much loyality," al-Zawahiri said.